by Griff Hosker
“It is Jarl Hrolf and it is powerful beyond words. It can slice through the helmets of the Saxons. The blade came from the land of the Franks but Bagsecg, our smith, has worked his magic on it.”
“I have heard that name. Perhaps he would make me a sword too.”
“You will have to ask him but many men want a Bagsecg blade.” I then told him how the lightning had struck the sword and he was even more envious.
When the ‘Man’ entered the port the next day Hrolf and his people joined us to watch its arrival. I could see from Jarl Butar’s face that the raid had not gone as well as he had hoped. It was as black as thunder. He had obviously seen Hrolf’s ship when he had entered the anchorage and he put on a smile for our visitor when he leapt ashore.
“Ah Jarl Hrolf. It is good to see you.”
“And you Jarl Butar. I hope it was a good raid.”
“I have had better.” He came over to me, “See to the men, stepson and I will speak with our visitor.”
“Of course my lord.” As they left I went to the boat which was now securely tied. I could see that there were empty benches as well as wounded men. There were no slaves but there looked to be plunder beneath some old sails. Haaken looked up at me and I could see the sadness on his face. “We were ambushed as we headed back to the ship. We lost eight men and all the slaves. It was not good.”
“We missed your luck, brother.” Cnut looked ruefully at my empty place on the bench.
I knew not what to say. I felt guilty that I had not been there. I resolved that the next time I fought I would take more care both of myself and my comrades and blood sworn. “If it is any consolation then Hrolf and his people have had an even harder time than we have. The men of Stavanger raided them and they now live in Hibernia. Tadgh, the slave from my village, is now a warrior.”
Haaken shook his head. “We should have filleted the bastard like a fish when we had the chance and saved the world the trouble.”
We emptied the ship and took the wounded to the warrior hall. There would be no feast or celebration, too many men had died but we would hold a feast to celebrate our friendship with the men of Orkneyjar. It was as I suspected, Hrolf needed our grain. Jarl Butar traded some for the seal oil which would make our ships better but the most important thing which came out of it was that Hrolf swore fealty to Jarl Butar. We would fight to protect him and he would come to our aid if we needed it. Many of our people thought that Hrolf came out better but, as Jarl Butar told me, if Hrolf had not directed us to Manau, where would we have ended up? We owed our lives to Jarl Hrolf. He did, however, insist that Jarl Butar take the title, Prince of the Isles. Butar thought it a meaningless title but it pleased everyone and so he took it.
After Hrolf had gone Prince Butar of the Isles made sure that every town and village had enough grain and food for the winter. We improved all our defences and Olaf was sent to trade with Sigismund once more. I recovered and resumed training. Two more warriors, Ulf and Torgil, were recommended to become Ulfheonar. We were seen as the warriors who Butar would turn to in times of need and only the best were recommended. Berserkers just happened and you could not predict them. We were different. Olaf had confided in me that, after he had seen me fight he thought I was a berserker. I could not understand that myself. I always felt in total control of my actions.
My sister grew and Erica became pregnant. I would be a father. My mother, and she was never to be gainsaid, told me that it would be in the spring and I would not argue with her predictions. I did not feel as afraid as I thought I would have been. Scanlan’s wife, Maewe, had proved to be a perfect slave. She too was young and had had a child and she was the perfect helper for my wife. I thanked the Allfather for my decision regarding Scanlan. He was devoted to me and I think that if I had freed him he would have served me still. He looked after my armour and weapons. He saw to the land that Prince Butar had given me. He made my life so easy that I wondered how I had managed before he came.
The Yule festival was the best one that I could remember. Eric, Olaf and Harald brought their families to Hrams-a for the seven day festival and we told tales and sagas for the whole time. I was embarrassed that many were about me but, as is the way with sagas, I was allowed to add parts which praised others so that Ragnar became more important and Haaken. That year ended blissfully. And I felt so happy and full of joy that I thought that I would burst.
The late winter brought a flood of volunteers and hopefuls who wished to settle on Manau. Prince Butar applied the same rules and more were rejected than accepted. The Ulfheonar were given the task of training them and I enjoyed that work. Bjorn created the framework and we worked with the warriors. Of course they all wished to touch the sword which had been touched by the gods but after that they were willing and hard workers. When Haaken married, Cnut began to look for a bride. As I looked at us three I realised that we were now men and accepted as the elite of the warriors. It had happened without me realising it. I was no longer Gareth the slave; I was the Dragon Heart and the wielder of Ragnar’s Spirit.
I had become much stronger since I had been wounded. I worked hard to keep my body as powerful as I could. I was not the tallest warrior nor was I the strongest but I was the quickest and I began to teach myself to use two swords. After my shield had broken I had sworn that I would not be left defenceless again. Prince Butar told us that we would begin raiding in the spring and so we worked even harder. The Ulfheonar were seen not only as the scouts, the eyes and ears of the warriors but, in battle, the leaders. When we practised, warriors tried to defeat us but no-one could for we kept ourselves at the well trained as any warrior. The warriors in the towns would follow us anywhere. We still had three Ulfheonar without wolf skins and we were already planning our next hunt. That would have to wait until after our first raid.
Of course my son, Arturus, changed that. He came into my life like a whirlwind and put all else from my mind. He was named after my mother’s father. I liked the name for it was neither Saxon nor Norse; it was an older name. My mother told me it was from the time of the Romans. If the old fortress we had captured was a measure of their work then they were a powerful people. My son would be too. Erica was born to have children and the birth was so swift that even my mother was surprised and she knew everything. Butar was delighted to be a grandfather and Eric to be an uncle but I was more surprised and happier than anyone. I had a son. I had someone to follow me and to carry on my blood. I had wanted to call him Ragnar but my mother felt that as we had Ragnarson as our family name it might sound wrong. I didn’t mind. He would have part of Ragnar in him, I knew that.
Butar had to take me aside to speak with me about the way I doted on Arturus. “It is good that you have a son and that you enjoy being with him but you are a warrior and a leader for our people. You need to prepare to lead your men again.”
“But I thought that you told me that having a child changed your life.”
“And so it does but it does not change who we are. You are still Dragon Heart, the talisman of the warriors. The men still talk darkly of the one raid you were not present and we lost men. When we sail next week they will look to you and they will both fight better and safer with you there.”
I could see what he meant. All winter I had heard of the ill luck which had beset our men without me there. It was nonsense of course but our warriors were very superstitious. “I will put my mind to war again. I swear it.”
We had replaced the men we had lost but no more and we still had but three boats with which to go raiding. Olaf stayed at home. He was making his town as strong as it could be. Olaf’s town would be as protected as Hrams-a. He would build an impregnable castle and his home would be Castletown. He had neither wife nor children but his legacy would be his town and his castle which was emerging from the Saxon ruins.
Eric and Harald took a boat each and we, of course, were on the ‘Man’ for it was bigger than the ‘Ran’. We left one cold spring morning and headed towards the Maeresea and the Dee. We wo
uld not need to scout this time; we knew where the people lived and we would be in and out swiftly. The winds were precocious at that time of year and we had to row more than we would normally. Haaken was philosophical about that. “We have had a good winter with plenty of food and warm beds. This will do our muscles and bodies good.”
Cnut shook his head. Since Haaken had taken a woman he had changed. Some of it was for the better, he was more thoughtful than he had been but he did enjoy his food and drink more. He was a little heavier than he had been. Cnut was still the one true warrior amongst the three of us. He had no woman and he worked at being the best warrior that he could be. He had told me that he always watched my back in a battle for he had sworn an oath to protect me. He still blamed himself for my wound even though he had been guarding my right side. It had been Haaken who had been on my left side that day.
We were glad when we saw the sandy beaches and dunes appear. There was a small port jutting into the sea and we made straight for it while Harald and Eric took their ships down the Dee. The people would flee and fly into the net of warriors who would wait for them. The Ulfheonar were the first ashore. Bjorn and I leapt into the water followed by the others. I had Ragnar’s Spirit in my hand and my shield, repaired and strengthened over the winter, across my back. I doubted there would be many warriors in such a small place. I doubted that I would even blood my blade.
A handful of men stood facing us with axes and short, ancient swords. They were fishermen. I could not bring myself to slaughter them, “Do you really want to die? Drop your weapons or you will!” I suspect I terrified them. I was dressed all in black; they could not see my face and I spoke to them in Saxon. All but one did as I asked. The one hero threw himself at me and Cnut took off his head in a single blow. We left the other warriors to secure the prisoners and we entered the village. It was a port of sorts and I could see, from the hut we entered, that they had had some recent trade. There were pots from Frankia and other foreign items. They were high quality. As we had expected there were few weapons and there was little food for it was spring but we took what they had.
We had our plunder aboard quickly and sailed down the Dee. We saw Eric and Harald herding the women and children on board their boats. We had identified some small villages not far from both rivers and we pulled the ‘Man’ on to the shore to join our comrades. We divided into five groups. The Ulfheonar were the smallest group and there were just nine of us. We headed north eastwards towards the settlement which was furthest away. We knew that we just had to head in that direction and we would either find the river or the cluster of huts. We knew that the land around the village had been cultivated and promised both animals and feed. We had enough slaves but we desperately needed more animals and more feed.
Sweyn and Godfrid were scouting ahead and they raced down the green track the Saxons used as a road. “The village is up ahead but there are warriors within.”
Bjorn frowned; the village was not big enough to warrant armed men. This was the reason my step father, Prince Butar, had sent so few of us. He had not anticipated any opposition. “How many?”
“We counted five but they were the ones in the village. There were others in the main house we think.” Sweyn shrugged. “We are guessing.”
Bjorn smiled, “And a Sweyn guess is more accurate than another warrior’s observation. We will proceed cautiously and see how many there are.”
As we walked along the track I knew that Bjorn would not walk away just because there were armed warriors but neither would he throw our lives away recklessly. We smelled the smoke from their fires and we spread out. Haaken, Cnut and I went to the far side of the village. Bjorn would make the decisions; if he attacked then we would join in and if he decided it was too dangerous then he would send a message.
The villagers had cleared much of the land around the village and we were in the hedgerow two hundred paces from the edge. I could see some animals grazing. They had three pigs and a handful of sheep. They would make a welcome addition to our flocks and herds. Cnut was always the reckless one. “I think that we can get closer. If we cover our backs with our wolf skins then we can creep across the field slowly.”
Haaken grinned, “That suits me. Wolves in the sheepfold eh?”
“You two are mad! Come on then.” We untied our skins and draped them over our backs and our shields. We moved slowly into the field. We moved very slowly but, even so the sheep edged nervously away. We crept slowly like three shadows, unseen by the villagers in their huts. The closer we came the more I could hear. There were angry voices.
“I do not care what you need the captain needs all your food. If you are hungry then come to the fort and we will share what we have.”
“But we only need food because you are taking ours!”
“The raiders took all we had last year. The fort is your only place of refuge. The good of that comes before everything else.”
I whispered to the others, “The reason the warriors are here is to steal the villager’s food. “ We crept closer and stood in the shelter of a hut where we could hear more. Suddenly we heard a roar as Bjorn and the others burst into the village. We had an idea where the warriors were and we went for them. They had no mail nor did they carry a shield. Even though they outnumbered us it gave us the advantage.
Haaken took the left and Cnut the right. The Saxons’ attention was on Bjorn and the others. The first two died before they knew we were there. The warrior who faced me was quicker than the other two or perhaps I was still slower due to my old wound. Whatever the case his sword whistled a hand’s breadth in front of my helmet. I stabbed at him and be beat my sword away. I swung my shield around and smashed it into his side so that he fell over. I plunged my sword into his chest. There was no order to the fighting; the Saxons were striking out blindly. Two of them came at me and I parried one blow with my shield while I slashed at the second warrior’s leg. He fell writhing to the floor and his companion glanced at his comrade. It was only a moment but it was enough. I continued the movement of Ragnar’s Spirit and its edge buried itself in his side. Cnut finished off the wounded warrior as Bjorn killed their leader.
The villagers had fled but they had left their animals. “There are sheep and pigs in the field.”
“You three get them. The rest of you search the huts for anything of value.”
The Saxon warriors had thoughtfully provided some rope for they obviously intended to take back the animals. Cnut roped the ram leaving Haaken and me the task of securing the boar. It twisted and turned and tried to bite us but we managed to tie a halter around its neck. Cnut led the reluctant ram and Haaken and I pulled the pig. The other beasts followed docilely along. Sweyn laughed when he saw us. Haaken waved a fist at him. “Next time you get the pig and we search the huts!”
Bjorn followed quickly. I was pleased that we had not hurt the villagers for they were prey to all. They had their huts and they still had their food. True we had taken their pigs and their sheep but the Saxons would have taken it all. I told Bjorn what I had heard.
“So we hurt them more than Prince Butar knew. That is useful information.”
We reached the boat before many of the others. We put the animals and the Saxon weapons aboard. We had a good haul and, when we left, we were low in the water. We had not far to go. This was a much shorter journey than the one Harald One Eye had had to take to reach my land. Perhaps that was why he was now on the mainland. He could save all the travelling across an ocean which could be savage.
We received a great welcome when we arrived home. We had lost no warriors and the animals and food we had secured would give us a good summer and an even better winter. When we shared out the spoils some of the men asked to have some of the sheep for they wished to farm as well. This was our way. Men fought but they all had an occupation. There were many fecund female slaves who were happy to be the wives of warriors and they could look after the home. Within a few weeks of the raid there were small farmsteads blossoming all over the
island. We also found that we had more produce to trade. Harald thought he would try to trade with Hibernia. If there were warriors from home then it might be mutually beneficial.
I was too busy to think of farming for my new home had now been built with quarters for Scanlan and his family. Maewe was with child again and that was good for me. Soon I would have another worker to help Erica. Life was good. I also had some idea about how we could make life easier for ourselves. Butar and I went out hunting in the woods near to the high ground. This was the best time to get deer and we could preserve some of the meat for harder times.
We had killed a buck and a doe and were preparing the poles to carry them back. “I wondered if we could use the thralls.”
Butar laughed, “I thought we used them already.”
“We do but some of them, like Scanlan, can be trusted. They are loyal and hardworking. There are jobs, especially on the raids which they could do. We use warriors at the moment which is expensive for we need all the warriors we can get.”
“Hmm. And what would you have them do?”
“There are animals to look after. Food to prepare. And there are many tasks related to the ship.”
“Would not Scanlan run?”
“Not without Maewe and his children and they would be on the island watching over Erica.” I could see him wavering and I pushed home my advantage. “Let us try an experiment. Let us take Scanlan the next time and then you can judge. The only loser would be me and I am willing to gamble on his loyalty.”
“In that case you may bring him. If he is willing.”
The thought that he might refuse me had never occurred to me and I began to doubt myself. I chose an appropriate moment to ask him. We were fishing in the Salmon River; it was a task I had done as a thrall and I didn’t mind doing it again. “Scanlan, how would you feel about coming on a raid with us?”